1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates in general to panel joints, and more specifically to panel joints for joining two wall panels with their front surfaces in a common plane.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The assembly of wall panels in the construction of buildings, walls, partitions, elevator cabs, and any other paneled structure, requires simple, low cost, easy to install panel joints. In some installations, the joining hardware is visible as a decorative strip between adjacent panels. When it is not required that the joint hardware be concealed, it greatly simplifies the task of joining the panels, as the strip overlaps the edges of the panels, and thus the panels do not have to butt tightly together in order to provide an effective joint.
In installations wherein the edges of the panels are to be tightly butted together, with the joining hardware concealed, a much more difficult joining problem is presented. The panel joints must be tight, and they must remain tight during usage. The latter requirement is more difficult to achieve when the assembled panels will be subjected to movement and vibration, such as the panels in an elevator cab. It is also important that front surfaces be disposed in a common plane, and the "flatness" of the resulting composite wall must be maintained without any bowing at the joint. This requirement is again especially important to elevator cabs which are subjected to movement and vibration over a period of many years.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a new and improved panel joint in which the adjoining edges are tightly butted together with concealed hardware. The panel joint must make it easy to obtain the desired alignment of certain edges of the panels, such as their bottom edges, while simultaneously aligning the front surfaces into a common plane, notwithstanding slight differences in the thickness and length dimensions of the panels to be joined. The panel joint must be such that it will not loosen and/or bow through usage, even when used to form panel structures which may be subjected to vibration.